The defence chief of Germany’s Bundeswehr, General Carsten Breuer, and the United Kingdom’s chief of the defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, have made an unprecedented joint statement, published in The Guardian and German newspaper Die Welt, in which they make their “moral” case for rearmament and prepare for the threat of war with Russia.
Published in the wake of the Munich Security Conference, Breuer and Knighton said they were speaking “not merely as the military leaders of two of Europe’s largest military spenders, but as voices for a Europe that must now confront uncomfortable truths about its security.”
The defence chiefs wrote, “There is a moral dimension to this endeavour. Rearmament is not warmongering; it is the responsible action of nations determined to protect their people and preserve peace,” they write.
They wrote that Russia’s military posture had “shifted decisively westward” and that it was rearming and learning lessons from its invasion of Ukraine while “reorganizing in ways that could heighten the risk of conflict with NATO countries.”
They argued Russia’s military buildup “combined with its willingness to wage war on our continent, as painfully evidenced in Ukraine, represents an increased risk that demands our collective attention.”
Sources:
Richard Knighton and Carsten Breuer, The Guardian: As defence chiefs, we must warn you about Russia and say this: rearmament is not warmongering https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/15/defence-chiefs-russia-rearmament-security-britain-germany-europe
Ben Quinn, The Guardian: British and German military chiefs press ‘moral’ case for rearmament https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/15/top-british-and-german-military-chiefs-press-moral-case-for-rearmament
Kieran Burke, DW: German and UK military chiefs state case for rearming https://www.dw.com/en/german-and-uk-military-chiefs-state-case-for-rearming/a-75983486